All Forum Posts by: Atanas Petrov

Would love to position myself for a BRRR or Fix and Flip in Los Angeles. I have hard time finding deals that can make a margin that's good enough. Even off market deals are priced very high, and the competition is fierce. Would you share any whole-sellers contacts.

Thank you

Hey Everyone,

I have several SFH properties in Los Angeles, and would like to acquire more knowledge and get some answers in order to get into my 1st syndication. I have a few friends that would participate financially, and I would be the sponsor on a small multifamily property. I would like to start setting up the syndication, but I do not know what type of an attorney or accountant I need to help me with this process, or the cost associated. Your advice would be greatly appreciated. Who do I need to talk to begin. Please don't tell me I need to network and raise the funds, I don't need to raise the money for this one, I have the investors (non accredited) I need to get the ball rolling and if you have any professional contacts that can help me achieve this, please share them. I understand that syndication 506B would be an expensive endeavor vs setting up an LLC with a few friends and purchasing the property this way, but I personally would like to build experience by setting up the syndication, with my friends as passive investors, once I go through all the steps and troubles etc and learn, I can then go bigger on the next project. Thank you for your help in advance.

I had this same issue. My partner was in Nevada, and I live in California. The LLC was formed in the state of Nevada.

I tried opening a bank account on my own in California, I was told that my partner has to be present as well.

Because I was very persistent to find a solution, I had the opportunity to speak to the manager of the bank, and what we ended up doing is while I was in the bank, Chase in California sent a set of documents to the manager of a Chase bank in Nevada, thus both of the partners being present, one manager communicating with the other manager at the same time. 

In conclusion it may work depending on the bank, also depending on the states you are in, because different states have different rules and regulations, also it matters the percentage of partnership.  For example, if one partner has a minority share, again depending on the state and regulations, they may not have to be present, and the partner with higher percentage of the company can open up a bank account.

It's a very tricky situation, and I would say after you speak to multiple banks, it might be better to fly to the state where the LLC was formed and open the bank account there because the hassle might not be worth it. It worked for me, but each situation, bank, state, and partnership is different.

Good luck

 Great, that's amazing.  Thank you

Hey Chen, I'm currently finishing a 1200 sq ft ADU in Los Angeles in 2 months, and will be using a HELOC to fund another ADU project when the plans get approved in the next 4 months on another home I already own. My question to you is how does Figure.com evaluate the ADU. Do you have to provide them with any information related to the newly build ADU, you said no appraisal no documents, but they still need to know some details about the size of the ADU weather or not the house and the ADU are rented, may be leases I imagine? if you could elaborate, it will be very helpful. Thank you for the great post btw

Some of the big mistakes in real estate as mentioned above are hesitating for too long, not making the decision, and not following through.  The first time I tried to buy a property, I wanted my dream home, in a really good area, obviously way more than I could afford.  I sat down with the lender he was looking over my tax returns, did all the number crunching, and later explained that the maximum I would qualify for is about half of what my dream home was going to cost.  Then instead of finding a property that I can qualify for, I decided that I'm going to wait couple of years until I have a bigger downpayment and higher income to get my dream house.  4 years later I ended up buying an investment property in completely different neighborhood because the prices had risen so high that again this was all I could get.  Moral of the story, don't wait, don't hesitate, make the decision, follow your plan of action, believe in yourself and make it happen.  Do not take advice from people that don't own a home, and are not investors. 

I was in a similar boat a while back, contemplating whether to buy locally in Los Angeles and house hack, or buy a property out of state.  For a first time investor or simply home owner, I would strongly encourage anyone to start with house hack locally so you can learn what it takes to manage a property, build small network of handy man, sub contractors, do small upgrades if necessary, and have a full hands on experience.  Of course that out of state investment is also a great strategy, but you have to understand what you are doing first, gain confidence and that will pave the way to a more successful out of state investing strategy and experience.  That's my subjective opinion

здравей Villy ;), it's pleasure to meet you as well. I wrote a very long reply and somehow it didn't post so this time I will be brief. It sounds that you have had quite a bit of experience and you are no hands on the STR business, which is wonderful. I personally am familiar with LTR rentals and as far as the STR approach, I'm very aware that I would be managing it myself especially in the beginning so that I can learn and make the most out of it. I have been running a small e-commerce business for quite a few years, and have years of experience with customers, customer service, marketplaces, selling platforms, softwares, problem solving, and so much more that it makes me very confident that I will transition to STR rather quickly compared to someone who has no experience in anything online and long term rentals

The competitive nature of the market in your area sounds a lot like what has been happening in LA and some of the vacation rental markets that I have been analyzing.  

Thank you for your advice regarding the financing and the appraisal gaps.  This has been the trend in many vacation rental markets, many agents have mentioned it right a way, and I hear about more and more properties outside of a vacation market that went through a similar ordeal.   One of the reasons many single family homes get back on the market is due to not being appraised at the selling price, which is so high due to the bidding wars. 

Thank you for sharing your life experience and professional opinion and advice.

Do skoro

 Hey Josh,

I agree with you 100% I am going to start traveling and looking into properties and meeting with local agents to get a first hand perspective, and that would help me to move quicker.  I appreciate the support, it honestly gave me a burst of motivation, because for the past month I started doubting by strategy but after hearing so many people's opinions and encouragement I'm mentally ready to make a move.  Thank You

 Thank you for your input Kevin, I have been learning and hearing so much about the Florida Panhandle and will certainly come down to become more familiar and knowledgeable.